ChroniSense National Early Warning Score Study (CHESS): a wearable wrist device to measure vital signs in hospitalised patients-protocol and study design

Introduction The National Early Warning Score is used as standard clinical practice in the UK as a track and trigger system to monitor hospitalised patients. Currently, nurses are tasked to take routine vital signs measurements and manually record these on a clinical chart. Wearable devices could provide an easier, reliable, more convenient and cost-effective method of monitoring. Our aim is to evaluate the clinical validity of Polso (ChroniSense Medical, Yokneam Illit, Israel), a wrist-based device, to provide National Early Warning Scores. Methods and analysis We will compare Polso National Early Warning Score measurements to the currently used manual measurements in a UK Teaching District General Hospital. Patients aged 18 years or above who require recordings of observations of vital signs at least every 6 hours will be enrolled after consenting. The sample size for the study was calculated to be 300 participants based on the assumption that the final dataset will include four pairs of measurements per-patient and per-vital sign, resulting in a total of 1200 pairs of data points per vital sign. The primary outcome is the agreement on the individual parameter scores and values of the National Early Warning Score: (1) respiratory rate, (2) oxygen saturation, (3) body temperature, (4) systolic blood pressure and (5) heart rate. Secondary outcomes are the agreement on the aggregate National Early Warning Score. The incidence of adverse events will be recorded. The measurements by the device will not be used for the clinical decision-making in this study. Ethics and dissemination We obtained ethical approval, reference number 18/LO/0123 from London-Hampstead Research Ethics Committee, through the Integrated Research Application System, (reference number: 235034. The study received no objection from the Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority, reference number: CI/20018/005 and has National Institute for Health Research portfolio adoption status CPMS number: 32532.